What Caught My Eye Today

National Sovereignty - This isn't exactly a news item, but I dig on stories like this one. When is a country not a country? Fascinating question, wouldn't you say. When the United Nations says it isn't. An official U.N. country needs approval from 9 of the 15 Security Council members. Here are 10 territories that are almost, but not quite countries (number in parentheses represents how many U.N. member states do recognize it):

• Palestine (98) - Next in line to become a U.N. member, if a two-state solution with Israel moves forward.
  Yeah, that should happen any day now.
• Kosovo (60) - Russia still considers it part of Serbia and is singlehandedly blocking its U.N. membership.
  As you continue down this list, this whole nation-state recognition thing between Russia and the rest of the Western world becomes a recurring theme.
• Western Sahara (46) - Some think it should be part of Morocco, while others think it belongs to Algeria. Biggest barrier to U.N. membership--no one has an incentive to get involved.
  I don't care who you are, that's got to hurt the old ego.
• Taiwan (22) - In 1971, President Nixon helped oust Taiwan from the U.N. to appease China and prevent Soviet expansion.
  Nice. All this railing against the Chinese to grant Taiwan its independence, all the while, the U.S. was the one who gave Taiwan to China in the first place.
• Abkhazia (2) - Declared independence from Georgia in 1991. Kept out of the U.N. by the West.
  Sound familiar?
• South Ossetia (2) - Declared independence from Georgia in 1992. Kept out of the U.N. by the West to keep out a pro-Russia vote.
  This is starting to sound like a broken record.
• Northern Cyprus (1) - Declared its independence from the rest of Cyprus in 1983. While the southern Republic of Cyprus is a full member of the U.N. and E.U., the north's only supporter is Turkey.
  This is what happens when you pick the wrong side to back you up. Turkey is all that and a bag of chips, but does not match up too well against...well, the rest of the world.
• Nagorno-Karabakh (0) - Primarily Armenian, but Azerbaijan claims its territory. Nobody recognizes it because picking a side means angering Russia, Armenia or Azerbaijan.
  These guys are hosed, unless they have more oil and natural gas then those other guys, and I just don't see that.
• Somaliland (0) - Was merged with Puntland to create Somalia 20 years ago. Wants independence, but no luck, chiefly because once a country is created, the global community is hesitant to dismantle it.
  The irony here is that Somaliland is a pretty stable joint with its own currency and school system. But, yeah I can see why we want to keep it hooked up with Somalia, what with the success story that mess has been.
• Transdniestria (0) - Declared its independence from Ukraine and Moldova in 1990, but has been governed by 1992 by Moldova which does not recognize its secession.
  Okay, maybe its just me, but if you want to be a country, pick a name that people have half a chance of pronouncing correctly.

Russia - Russian President Dmitri Medvedev established a presidential commission with the aim of "counteracting attempts to falsify history so as to undermine the interests of Russia." The commission will report to the president any domestic or foreign examples of "false" accounts of history. The formation of the commission is seen as a response to the wave of new history books in former Soviet Bloc nations that portray the fall of the Soviet Union as the "liberation" of Eastern Europe. History is a peculiar thing. More often than not, history tends to be written by the "winning side". By sheer coincidence (I'm sure) that history paints a rather positive picture of the "winners" while offering a not so flattering account of the "losing side." Funny how the Russians view themselves as the "losing side" in recent history.

Armageddon - If you have been paying attention you, no doubt, have noticed in the "Let Me Count The Days" section of this blog, that the end of the world is a less than 1300 days from now. Should you be curious why the end is so near, I give you this. The world is coming to an end on December 21, 2012. That's the day the Earth will be destroyed in some kind of fiery apocalypse. Well that does sound rather ominous, doesn't it? This latest end-times prophecy is based on the Mayan Long Count Calendar, which ends on that day. Of course, there are those that are of the opinion that when the calendar ends, it basically starts over, but then this story wouldn't be nearly as interesting would it?

China - I know things are tough all over, but this is harsh, even by Chinese standards. A man who held up traffic for five hours by threatening to jump off a bridge, was finally shoved off it by an impatient commuter who justified his actions by saying, "jumpers are very selfish". The jumper landed on an emergency air cushion and survived. With countrymen like that, I'm not sure surviving was much of a consolation.

Great Britain - Indulge me on this one. It really short. Plus, who doesn't appreciate a little potty humor every now and again. Residents of Butt Hole Road, in South Yorkshire finally tired of the jokes and the busloads of American tourists snapping photos of the street sign and changed the street's name to the more respectable Archer Way. What, only American tourists found this funny? I think not. And another thing, you can change the name all you want, my friends. To me you will always be Butt Holes. (I know, I know, cheap shot. I just couldn't help myself).